Letter: Drone killings called abuse of power

“Al-Awlaki, who was born in New Mexico to Yemini parents, had been in the U.S. crosshairs since his killing was approved by Obama last year.”

The other American killed in the strike, Samir Khan, “published a slick English-language Web magazine, ‘Inspire’ that spouted al-Qaida’s anti-Western ideology. …”

Wow!

Regardless of one’s alleged crime, receiving a fair trial in America has gone from “innocent until proven guilty” to: These U.S. citizens were “tracked and killed based on secret intelligence and the president’s say-so.”

It’s not as if they were killed while setting off a bomb, or that an officer of the law, whose life was in imminent danger, shot them while attempting to execute an arrest warrant.

Nope! The president simply issued orders to “take out” these Americans. So let’s call it what it really is: the ultimate abuse of power — assassination by executive decree!

Should one argue such actions are necessary to keep us safe, don’t buy it. When the president and his assassins place themselves above the rule of law, no one is safe.

Ask yourself: If these killings had occurred on President George W. Bush’s say-so, would the media be so quick to praise a job well done?